One to One Youth Services for children and young people

Our bespoke personal development programmes address the complex needs of children and young people who have trouble engaging in relationships, school and life in general

Working outdoors with experienced, highly trained mentors and therapists, primary aged children and teenagers find healing and peace. They gain skills that enable them to engage productively with others and find a path toward continued growth and, eventually, productive adulthood.

The Wilderness Foundation offers one-to-one youth services at low cost to the referral agency or the parent/carer.

Participants

The one-to-one youth programme is currently available in Essex with plans to expand across the UK. It is designed for young people of all ages. Participants typically have complex issues that have resisted conventional interventions.

Participants may be referred through Children’s Support Services, Residential Care Homes,Behavioural Attendance Partnerships or by Parents/Carers. We also offer this personalised programme directly to secondary schools in Essex.

Programme

One-to-one youth programmes are personalised to meet the needs of each participant, based on discussions with the referral agency and the young person.

Participants and their therapist typically work together one to three days a week, several hours a day, for an agreed period of time. This begins by building a trust-based, non-judgmental relationship with the young person.

The programme design usually includes outdoor activities and can include fishing, nature photography, hiking, camping, canoeing, rock climbing, orienteering, gardening, and more.

Our young participants typically get so absorbed in these activities that they do not notice their therapist gently guiding them toward greater self-esteem and self-control. Simply being in nature calms their stress and gives them space for reflection and growth.

Additional days or half days follow a personal development agenda set in our Chatham Green site: 400 acres of meadows, woods, streams, and farmland. Participants continue to enjoy the inherent benefits of being outdoors while working with their therapist to develop the agreed-upon personal and social skills.

Sample outcomes for a young person who is not engaging in school and who has other complex needs might include the following:

Increased self-confidence and awareness of success

Development of skills for independent learning

Ability to consider the needs of others and to maintain relationships with adults and peers

Ability to accept authority and understand that actions have consequences